Sewing machine attachment



Aug 3l, 1965 s. P. CRANE ETAL 3,203,381

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Original Filed May 6, 1960 23 Ffa-' FOLDING 23 SamueIN 'gigs Y Smullen DzKent ATTORNEY yUnited States Patent() 3,203,381 EEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Samuel P. Crane, Great Neck, and Stephen D. Kent, Newburgh, N Y., assignors to Alpha Research Corp., New York, NSY., a corporation of New York @riginal application May 6, '1960, Ser. No. 27,416, now Patent No. "3,107,368, dated Oct. 22, 1963. Divided and this application July 17, 1963, Ser. No. 295,673 Claims. (Cl. T12-122) This invention relates to sewing machine attachments and particularly to that type intended to enclose and bind the marginal edge portions of the covering sheets of Ventilating spacers or similar articles.

ln Ventilating spacers or cushions for seats, as used in automobiles, there are usually employed coiled wire units, or inner spring or other spacing units. The spacing unit is covered by a top or front sheet and a bottom or rear sheet, one or both of which are of a coarse open mesh fabric in which the openings between the war-p and weft threads are substantially larger than the diameter of the threads so as to attain adequate ventilation. Because of the relatively large size of the openings, the warp and weft threads are not distorted or mutually interengaged frictionally at the intersections thereof .as much as closely Woven fabrics and hence are quite likely to become displaced relatively to each other under stress. Furthermore, the marginal portions of the open mesh sheet or sheets, when cut to size, do not have any selvage and have raw edges tending to ravel. The marginal portion of the open mesh sheet is brought together with the marginal portion of the other sheet beyond the spacing member and such marginal portions are enclosed within and stitched to a binding tape to finish the edges of the spacer.

Difficulty has been experienced, however, with the spacers so nished for the reason that the stitching frequently fails to hold the threads in place permanently within the edge binding. That is, the stitching does not engage well enough one set of threads which enter into the edge binding because of the relatively large spaces between the threads as compared to the thread diameter. The stitches frequently miss the threads and do not prevent such threads from pulling out longitudinally from the binding under tension. Nor is the other se-t or weft threads adequately held against displacement within the binding or relatively to the Warp threads either by the stitching or binding or by the friction thereof against the warp threads.

Moreover, in the manufacture of the spacer, when the casing sheets are precut in advance of assembly on the assumption that the edges would register within the binding, it has been found that such sheets or at least one of them are distorted uncontrolledly and are spread apart by the relatively bulky inner spacing member so that the corresponding edges of the sheets fail to register and one sheet may extend past the other in some areas and terminate short of the other sheet in other areas, thereby narrowing the marginal areas of at least one sheet enclosed and held within the binding and rendering the -thus shortcned marginal threads or thread ends of the open mesh sheet even more likely to pull out of the binding.

The invention further contemplates and is directed toward the provision of means for trimming the edges of both cover sheets of the spacers above described and disclosed in our copending application Serial No. 27,416,

dl Patented Aug. 3l, i965 ICE now Patent No, 3,107,368 in more detail, and of which this application is a division, said means depositing a longitudinal line of adhesive on the margins of said sheets between the trimming means and the longitudinal line passing through the needle of the sewing machine so that the needle does not touch or pass through the adhesive during the stitching operation, said means also folding the binding tape and arranging the stitching close to the inner edges of the folded tape and later subjecting the adhesive to pressure to spread it through the edge portions of the sheets after it has passed the needle.

The invention is further directed to the provision of an attachment to a sewing machine which can readily be arranged in place in connection with a trimming mechanism to cooperate therewith in ltrimming, gluing, binding and stitching the edges of the covers for the ventilating spacer in spite of the relatively flimsy character thereof and the tendency of the inner spacing member to spread the cover sheets apart, all without the need for a preliminary stitching operation on the edge portions of the covers. y i

The invention is further directed to the provision of means for automatically applying adhesive to the marginal portions of the covers while the binding is being folded and stitched, without danger of adhesive being transmitted to the sewing machine needle or to the bobbin mechanism underlying the bed of the sewing machine, thereby avoiding the danger of breakdown of the stitching mechanism and the necessity for stoppage and repairs.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sewing machine showing the folding and gluing attachment secured thereto for machine-finishing the marginal portions of the spacer.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary partial vertical sectional view 'and partial side elevational view of the attachment and of the cooperating parts of the machine.

VPIG'. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the presser foot showing the adhesive dispenser carried thereby and the end of the folder fitted into a recess therein.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatical fragmentary top plan View of the edge portion of an open mesh cover sheet indicating the various operations of trimming, gluing, folding and stitching being performed simultaneously by the machine and the attachment as the ledge portion of the spacer is fed through the machine.

FIG. 5 is a sectional View of the bound and glued edge portion of the nished spacer.

In carrying out the invention, it is intended that the feeding and gluing attachment be applied to a sewing machine 10 of any well known type having a suitable trimming knife 11, a reciprocating needle bar as 12 carrying a needle 13 and suitable work-feeding mechanism 14 operating in the opening 15 of the throat plate 16 and cooperating with a suitable presser foot to advance the work. It is also intended that the attachment operate to apply adhesive lto the cover sheets in advance of the folding of the binding tape and the stitching thereof and after the trimming of the sheets as said sheets advance, .and that the adhesive be applied along a quite 'narrow line initially of considerably lesser width lthan 'the transverse distance between, and located between, the

needle and the side edge of the work or fold line of the tape, and in timed relation to the speed of the workfeeding mechanism to avoid the possibility of the accumulation of an excess of adhesive which might enter into and ultimately cause stoppage of the stitching mechamsm.

The Ventilating spacer adapted to be linished by the invention may be of any suitable type having an open mesh cover and a .bottom cover held apar-t by a suitable spacing member, but as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the spacer is of the type disclosed in the Crane Patent No. 2,801,68'1 and comprises the front open mesh sheet 20 and the rear sheet 21 which may als-o be of open mesh fabric if desired or of other material. Between the sheets is arranged the inner spacer member 22 each shown as comprising intersecting rows of coiled wire wound around a border wire. The sheets 20 and 21 are long enough to form a back portion 17 and a seat portion 18 (EFIG. 4). The transverse line .of stitching 19 is made in the hinging area of the sheets and holds them together while a suitable unit 22 is inserted between the sheets above said stitching to form the back, a similar unit being inserted below the hinge line to form the seat.

The marginal portions of the sheets are enclosed within the folded edge binding tape 23, while .the line of stitching 24 passes through Ithe two sheets and the binding. Adhesive as 25 of any suitable type such as mucilage or the like, preferably of rather viscous consistency, penetrates the edge portions of the .top sheet, covers Ithe threads within the binding tape as well as the inner face of the tape and secures t-he threads of the fabric sheet or sheets to the intersecting .threads thereof, also to the other sheet and to the adjacent face of the tape, `thereby cooperating with the edge stitching to prevent the threads from pulling out of the binding when substantial sheets.

In the form of the mechanism shown, the recess 27 is made in .the modified presser foot 28 for the reception of the discharge end 29 of the folder 30 which folds the binding tape 23. A hole 32 is also made in the foot in lfront of the folder for the reception of the reduced or shouldered end portion 33 of the outer hollow cylinder 34 of the dispenser for adhesive, wh-ich is thereby attached to the presser foot and dispenses adhesive through said hole and on to the work during the operation of the machine. The attachment, `which cooperates with lthe presser foot and with the usual sewing machine elements, comprises the attaching pla-te 35 adapted to rest on the bed 36 of .the machine at the right of the foot 28 as viewed in FIG. 1 and to be removably attached to the bed as by the screws 37 (FIG. 2). The attachment plate 35 is wide enough to support the upstand-ing bracket 38 for the shaft 39 of the ratchet wheel 40, and at its front edge is suitably secured to the left end of the folder (FIG. 2) as by welding; Said ratchet wheel is shown as par-t of suitable reduction gearing interposed between the main shaft of the sewing machine and the adhesive dispenser to attain timed deposit of the adhesive relatively to the speed Iof the work feed.

The trimmer arm 41 is pivoted to the machine bed at one end 42 and is oscillated by the link 43 secured to the vertically reciprocating slide 44, which in turn is reciprocated by a suitable crank or cam on the main shaft, not shown. Adjacent the ratchet wheel is the pawl bracket 45 secured to the arm 41 and reciproeated therewith. Said `bracket carries the trimming knife 11 and also pivotally supports the pawl 46 pressed by the spring 47 into engagement with the ratchet wheel whereby each oscillation of the arm 41 rotates the ratchet wheel through a predetermined angle. At the same time, each such oscillation vertically reciproca-tes the trimming knife 11 so that the horizontal edge 48 thereof coacts with the edge of the throat plate 16 to trim the material of both sheets projecting over lthe edge of said plate thereby .to create precisely registering edges on the sheets after trimming in stress is applied to the spite yof the bulging or spreading effect of the spacer member.

Means are provided for depositing near the trimmed edges and on to the open mesh fabric inserted under the presser foot, an initially narrow line of adhesive 25 after each predetermined number of stitches or in timed relation to the number of stitches made by the needle 13 or oscillations of the arm 41. As shown, in addition to the ratchet wheel 40 constituting part of the reduction gearing, and in addition to the dispensing cylinder 34, said means comprises the .arcuate wedge cam 50 secured to a face of .the ratchet wheel and adapted to engage the outer end of the pin 51 which projects through a helically shaped slot 52 in the wall of the hollow cylinder 34. The inner end of said pin $1 is secured to the spring-pressed piston 53 slidably arranged within the cylinder, whereby the piston is moved downwardly when t-he pin is circumferentially rotated by the cam 50 and moved downwardly by the helical edge of the slot 52 on the rotation of the ratchet wheel. rl'lhe p-iston and the pin are returned to the normal uppermost positions thereof by the spring 54 acting upwardly thereon when the pin 51 drops olf the cam.

Within t-he hollow open top piston plunger 55 which is secured to `and is smaller in dia-meter than the piston 53, is the spring-pressed valve rod 56 preferably constricted just above its lower end and passing loosely through the opening in the bottom wall of the piston plunger. yAt the lowermost end of the rod below the plunger is the bal-l valve 58. The rod and ball thereon are urged downwardly by :the spring 59 arranged around the rod. The upper end of the spring abuts against the top wall of the piston while the lower end is secured to the rod, the spring expanding until its lower end engages the .bott-om of the plunger 55, and further expansion of the spring is thereby prevented. rPhe open top of the plunger communicates with the supply pipe 60 communieating with the adhesive container 62 through the flexible pipe 641 (FIG. l). The discharge opening 57 in the bottom of the outer cylinder 34 remains open while the piston is raised and the pin 51 is olf the cam 50, which is for about ,a half revolution of the ratchet wheel in the form shown. Adhesive therefore flows out of the plunger into the bottom part of the outer cylinder and past the ball valve through the discharge opening 57 and through the hole in the presser foot and onto the fabric which has been inserted between the throat plate and the presser foot.

i When the wedge cam engages the pin 51 and moves it circumferential-ly and downwardly in the slot S2 and thereby lowers the piston 53, plunger 55 and rod 56, the ball valve 58 is lowered into and closes the discharge opening and the ow lof adhesive to the fabric is out olf. The adhesive is initially deposited in a relatively narrow line as 63 (iFIG. 4) in sullicient outward transverse spaced lrelation to the needle to insure against any adhesive reaching the needle. As the fabric with the adhesive thereon is advanced during the stitching operation past the adhesive passage in lthe foot and is compressed between the foot and the feed mechanism of the machine, the adhesive is spread or flattened out and forced by the pressure through the interstices of the fabric and Iaround the threads of the sheet or sheets. Since the adhesive is applied quite closely to and just in advance of the folder 30, the edge por-tion of the fabric carrying the adhesive is enclosed in the binding tape 23 immediately after the deposit of the .adhesive thereon. The feeding pressure on the work conadhesive onto fthe inner surface of areas serve to bind Ithe weft .and warp threads of the fabric together at their intersections ,and also to bind both sheets together as well as securing the sheets to the binding tape.

The line of stitching is made as closely as possible to the inner edges 64 of the tape to insure substantial clearance between the needle and the adhesive. Further spreading of the adhesive after it passes the needle is advantageous and may occur under the pressure of the feeding mechanism as seen in FIG. 4.

As has been indicated, the trimming knife 11 trims both sheets 20 and 21 simultaneously and while said sheets are arranged on opposite sides of the spacer member and while they project therebeyond. The unit or spacer member tends' to force the sheets apart and for that reason are inserted under the front end of the presser foot before trimming and are held in place by the foot against relative displacement. As the arm 41 is oscillated by the sewing machine mechanism, not only does the knife trim the sheets, but adhesive is deposited on the trimmed sheets, binding tape is folded about the trimmed edges, the adhesive is spread to a limited extent insuflicient to reach the needle, the tape and sheets are stitched together and the adhesive further spread as the sheets are fed past the rear part of the foot, to nish the binding of the article.

It will now be seen that the attachment is easily applied to a sewing machine and espectially to one having a folder and trimmer as well as feed and stitching mechanism, that such attachment is adapted to apply adhesive to the open, mesh fabric and aids to prevent pulling out of the threads, that the trimming, gluing, feeding and stitching operations are carried out at different stations but go on simultaneously and at no greater effort than without the gluing, and that the various objects of the invention have been adequately attained.

While a certain specic form of the invention has herein been shown and described, Various obvious changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a sewing machine, means for trimming the edge portions of the two sheets of fabric, means for depositing adhesive on and close to the outer edges of said edge portions, tape-folding means for folding a tape around said edge portions, the adhesive depositing means depositing adhesive on said edge portions prior to the folding of the tape by said folding means, means for stitching the inner edges of the folded tape to the sheets bearing the adhesive along a line closely adjacent the inner edges of the tape and inwardly beyond the deposited adhesive, the adhesive-depositing means comprising a cylinder having a discharge opening,

a spring-pressed plunger in the cylinder,

a valve for the opening associated with the plunger,

an oscillatory arm carrying the trimming means, and

means operatively connecting the arm to the plunger to reciprocate the plunger on a predetermined number of oscillations of the arm.

2. The sewing machine of claim 1, the connecting means comprising a pawl mounted on 'the arm,

a ratchet wheel engaged by the pawl,

a cam on the wheel,

the cylinder having a helical slot therein,

and a pin on the plunger projecting through the slot and adapted to be engaged by said cam.

3. In a sewing machine, a presser foot having a first folder-receiving recess and a second adhesive-applicatorreceiving recess therein, a bed plate removably secured to the machine adjacent the presser foot, a folder for binding tape secured to the plate and having an end thereof inserted into the recess of the foot, an adhesive applying device inserted into said second recess and having a movable adhesive advancing element and means for operating said -device comprising an upstanding bracket fixed to the plate, a ratchet wheel supported by the bracket, means operatively connecting the wheel to a moving part of the machine, and a cam on the wheel,

having an operative connection to said advancing element.

4. In a sewing machine for uniting the outermost weft threads of the upper open mesh fabric cover of a coilfilled Ventilating spacer casing to the lower cover of the casing and for inserting adhesive into the spaces between a number of said outermost weft threads, work-feeding means for feeding the spacer covers together `with a coil `filling therebetween past a number of stations spaced apart longitudinally and transversely along the line of feed of the'work, edge-trimming means at a first station for simultaneously trimming the outermost extreme edge portions of the upper and lower covers of the casing while said covers are urged apart by the coil filling between said covers, means including an outlet at a second station for forcibly depositing a relatively narrow line of adhesive on the weft threads at the marginal portion of the upper cover, said line being in the direction of the line of feed of the work by the work-feeding means, said outlet being arranged rearwardly and inwardly of the rst station, tape-folding means at a third station arranged rearwardly of the first and second stations and having a terminal portion arranged transversely of the line of feed and changing the direction of movement of the tape from a direction substantially perpendicular to said line of feed to a direction parallel to the line of feed, said tape-folding means terminating at an innermost point a substantial distance inwardly of said outlet, said tape-folding means folding binding tape around the trimmed edges of the covers and the line of adhesive, said innermost point of the folding means determining the position of those edges of the binding tape remote from the trimmed edges of the covers relatively to the fold produced by the folding means and thereby determining the width of the folded binding tape, the transverse distance between said innermost point of the folding means and said outlet being not less than the transverse distance between the outlet and the trimming means, and means including a needle at a fourth station arranged a substantial distance inwardly and rearwardly of the rst and second stations for stitching the folded tape to the upper and lower covers along a line contiguous to the innermost point of the lfolding means and thereby closely adjacent the extreme inner edges of the folded tape and at a substantial distance inwardly of the adhesive whereby the needle does not pass through the adhesive at any time and the innermost marginal portions of the tape remain free of adhesive and are held to the covers solely by the stitching.

5. In a sewing machine for uniting the outermost weft threads of the upper open mesh fabric cover of an inner unit-filled Ventilating spacer casing to the lower cover of the casing and for insertting adhesive into the spaces between a number of said weft threads, means for trimming the edge poftions of said upper and lower covers to form registering edges thereon while said covers are urged apart by the inner unit filling between said covers, means for depositing a narrow line of adhesive on the upper cover suiciently close to the outermost weft threads to arrange the line of adhesive a suicient distance outwardly of the needle hereinafter mentioned to clear the needle at all times, means for folding a tape around said threads and around the edge portions of said covers, said means terminating at an innermost point arranged a substantial distance transversely inwardly of the adhesive depositing means sufficient to permit the needle hereinafter mentioned to make a line of stitching inwardly of the adhesive and contiguous to said innermost point of the folding means and at a substantial distance transversely inwardly of the adhesive depositing means not less than the transverse distance between the adhesive depositing means and the trimming means, and means including a needle in approximate longitudinal alignment with said innermost point of the folding means for stitching the innermost edges of the folded tape to each other and to 3,203,381 7 8 covers in close proximity to the extreme innermost 1,768,126 6/30 Maier 112-10 ;es of the tape and along a longitudinal line contigu- 1,775,793 9/30l Wechsler 112-10 z to the innermost point of the folding means. 2,142,733 1/39 Novsesian 112--43 References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 5- 649,390 8/37 Germany. 278,099 9/18 Brackett 112-43 X I 457,547 6/23 Netter 11Z 122 ROBERT V. SLOAN, Prlmary Exammef. 469,422 10/23 Luscher i12-122 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner.

734,287 11/29 Cornell 112-10 10 

1. IN A SEWING MACHINE, MEANS FOR TRIMMING THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE TWO SHEETS OF FABRIC, MEANS FOR DEPOSITING ADHESIVE ON AND CLOSE TO THE OUTER EDGES OF SAID EDGE PORTIONS, TAPE-FOLDING MEANS FOR FOLDING A TAPE AROUND SAID EDGE PORTIONS, THE ADHESIVE DEPOSITING MEANS DEPOSITING ADHESIVE ON SAID EDGE PORTION PRIOR TO THE FOLDING THE THE TAPE BY SAID FOLDING MEANS, MEANS FOR STITCHING THE INNER EDGES OF THE FOLDED TAPE TO THE SHEETS BEARING THE ADHESIVE ALONG A LINE CLOSELY ADJACENT THE INNER EDGES 